Barton Gold Growth Continues, Underpinned by Ambitious Tunkillia Development Strategy

Barton Gold Holdings (ASX: BGD) (OTCQB: BGDFF) has been buoyed by a report from research house Edison that values the company at a minimum of A$2.84 per share, placing it on a par with its West Australian peers.

Barton has seen a significant jump in its market capitalisation from $49 million at the start of the year to its current $282m on the back of an ambitious strategy aimed at producing 150,000 ounces of gold per year from its dual planned production hubs at its existing Central Gawler Mill (CGM) at the Challenger project, and its future flagship Tunkillia project in South Australia.

The Company has announced a series of major updates during the past six months that have quickly moved it from ‘explorer’ to ‘advanced developer’, drawing significant attention.

‘Hub and Spoke’ Model

Barton continues to pursue its dual-track ‘hub and spoke’ model, which starts with ‘Stage 1’ production at the CGM blending higher-grade tailings and high-grade fresh ore mineralisation at from the Challenger and Tarcoola projects.

The company is targeting commission by the end of 2026.

An index rebalancing last month elevated Barton into the prestigious ranks of the S&P Dow Jones ASX All Ordinaries Index, which showcases 500 of the largest companies on the Australian share market.

Transition to Large-Scale Producer

Barton will leverage a ramp-up of the Central Gawler Mill (CGM) and a proposed new mill at Tunkillia to underpin its transition from explorer to large-scale gold producer.

The company plans to commission ‘Stage 1’ production by the end of 2026 with 2027 targeting production in the vicinity of 20,000oz, then scale production to 35,000 – 45,000ozpa with the introduction of high-grade fresh ore.

Operating profits will then accelerate the development of Tunkillia and production by 2030, bringing total annual group production to the 150,000oz target.

Central Gawler Mill DFS

Barton is currently working on a definitive feasibility study (DFS) for ‘Stage 1’ production at the CGM, as well as resource upgrade drilling at Tunkillia’s ‘starter pits’ and a baseline water monitoring program to support a mining licence application next year.

Of note, the ‘Stage 2’ Tunkillia Project will benefit from bulk production efficiencies and a higher-grade central zone, which is modelled to produce over 360,000oz gold, nearly 1Moz silver, and some $1.3 billion in operating profits during the first 2.5 years alone.

The company expects to release the ‘Stage 1’ production DFS by the end of March 2026, and complete a Pre-Feasibility Study and Mining Lease application for Tunkillia in parallel.

Extensive Drilling Campaigns

In pursuit of its goals, Barton has started reserve conversion upgrade drilling at Tunkillia and has also announced two upgrades at the Challenger underground mine (adjacent to the CGM) to increase the mine’s resource to over 300,000oz, including 194,000oz at 3.2 grams per tonne gold on existing open pit and underground developments.

Regionally, Barton has conducted extensive drilling and soil sampling campaigns at the Tarcoola gold project that indicated the extensions to the mineralisation in its recent higher grade Tolmer silver discovery located between the Central Gawler Mill and Tunkillia Project.

The company has also completed the acquisition of the 279,000oz Wudinna gold project in July, which sits 400 kilometres southeast of Challenger and 200km southeast of Tunkillia.

Preliminary metallurgical test work on ore from Wudinna’s Barnes and Baggy Greens deposits has indicated gold recoveries as high as 99.3%, with strong potential for trucking and blending of high-grade concentrates (up to 25g/t gold) to the CGM and Tunkillia processing mills.